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U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL LABOR UNITED IN SUPPORT OF PANAMA CANAL TUG CAPTAINS

Labor organizations in the United States and abroad are speaking out in support of members of the MM&P Panama Canal affiliate Union de Capitanes y Oficiales de Cubierta (UCOC), which represents about 200 canal tug captains and associated vessel personnel.

For months, the tugboat operators have been protesting dangerous working conditions on the canal. Managers at the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) have been cutting corners in a multipronged drive to slash costs.

Most recently, the ACP unilaterally moved to reduce the number of deckhands aboard tugboats in the locks from three to two.

In response, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) issued an emergency motion in support of the tugboat workers at its April 19-20 meeting in London.

The motion reads in part:

“The ITF affiliates representing Panama Canal workers have for the past two years voiced their concerns over the constant attack from the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) against fair working conditions, Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining. One of the actions taken by the ITF on behalf of and with ITF Panamanian affiliates has been to lodge a complaint with the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association.”

The board said it also notes “that the majority of the issues reported are directly related to labor conditions and have a direct impact on health and safety and that the lack of appropriate action from ACP poses a serious threat to the safe operation of the Canal, the workers and thousands of vessels and crew that transit annually.”

It said it fears that the ACP “is aggressively pursuing further reduction to the manning on the tugboats operating in the new locks of the Panama Canal and that this will greatly increase the risk to the safe operation.”

The board expressed its alarm at reports from UCOC that the ACP has begun administrative procedures to dismiss 22 UCOC members for having expressed their professional concerns in regards to the safety risks associated with the ACP’s unilateral decision to operate the tugboats with reduced crew.

The tugboat captains have also continuously raised concerns with ACP in regards to the daily shifts that regularly exceed 12-14 hours or more and that this is negatively impacting the health and safety of the workers.

There have already been several incidents and accidents, including the collision with a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, where the National Transportation Safety Board investigation clearly identifies that the main factor was the tugboat captain’s fatigue because of extensive working hours.

It said it has grave concerns that ACP’s aggressive attitude towards UCOC and its members and ACP’s recent actions, are part of a plan to privatize the tug services in the Canal by discrediting and removing the Tugboat Captains who have always discharged their duties and responsibilities safely and professionally.

The board said in its statement that it will convey its concerns to the Government of Panama and request that the government immediately intervene.

The Maritime Labor Alliance (MLA), the six-union labor coalition of which MM&P is a member, has written to the ACP to express “ deep concern” about the safety of navigation in the expanded Panama Canal.”

The MLA consists of six leading North American maritime unions: International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA), Inlandboatmen’s Union (IBU), American Radio Association (ARA), Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA), and International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots (MM&P).

“It is our understanding that despite ongoing concerns about crew fatigue and the safety of operations, the Panama Canal Authority has made a unilateral decision to reduce tug boat personnel,” the MLA said in its official statement.

“This action, taken without consultation with or consideration for those responsible for the safe and efficient operation of vessel transits in the Canal, can only lead to vessel causalities, personal injury and disruptions of service.”

In a letter to Panama’s Ambassador to the United States, MM&P President Don Marcus also called on the government to intervene.

“Three deckhands are needed to safely maneuver the multiple towing lines and bridle arrangements used aboard the tugs to assist vessels in the locks. Eliminating one of the three deckhands serving aboard these vessels will endanger the health and safety of maritime workers and compromise the safe operation of ships transiting the locks.”

“The decision to reduce the size of the crews was made unilaterally, without consulting the mariners who work aboard the tugs. The ACP refuses to conduct meaningful discussions on the issues. Worse, it is unlawfully retaliating against tug captains by firing them for refusing to perform operations that are inherently unsafe.”

“There is a high incidence of death and injuries amongst seafarers associated with the handling of lines and ropes. The fact that a deckhand was killed on the Canal in a line-handling accident in November of last year underlines the gravity of concerns regarding the risks of a reduction in the number of crew during the most challenging and dangerous phase of operations in the expanded locks. A reduction in crew size will also exacerbate the fatigue and excessive working hour problems that already exist in Canal operations.”

We will provide further updates on the situation in the next issue of The Wheelhouse Weekly.

ITF HAILS ILO MOVE TO PROTECT WAGES OF KIDNAPPED SEAFARERS

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has hailed the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) endorsement of an amendment to the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) that would protect the wages of seafarers who have been abducted.

The MLC amendment, endorsed by an ILO working committee, would ensure the payment of seafarers’ wages while they are held captive by pirates.

Under the amendment, which will be submitted to the International Labor Conference at its next meeting for formal adoption, seafarers’ families would continue to receive contractual wages during the period of captivity, “regardless of whether the date fixed for [contract] expiry has passed or either party has given notice to suspend or terminate it.”

The amendment will also ensure that the seafarer’s right to repatriation is protected in the event of prolonged captivity.

“The MLC has entered a new chapter today. We have always known how challenging it would be to propose such an amendment and we are pleased that the seafarers’ position has been recognized by the social partners and governments as a necessary instrument to provide seafarers with greater protections.”

When it enters into force, the amendment will address what the ITF has termed “a potential contractual gap” for kidnapped seafarers.

Continued payment of wages and other contractual entitlements will provide their families with the necessary means of survival while loved ones are held hostage.

Representatives for seafarers and shipowners put forward three more amendments: one joint amendment calls for government action on seafarer abandonment; another joint amendment calls for facilitation of shore leave; the third, a resolution tabled by the ITF Seafarers’ Section, recognizes “protections required specifically for inland navigation,” and makes reference to the fight over workplace safety taking place in the Panama Canal between members of the MM&P affiliate UCOC and the canal authority.

The resolution calls for the ILO to consider convening a sectoral meeting to discuss decent work in the inland navigation sector.

“This is the acknowledgement that inland navigation personnel are faced with unique living and working conditions that require special consideration,” said IFT President Paddy Crumlin in a statement.

“The adoption of the resolution concerning decent work in the inland navigation sector is a very welcome and timely addition to the positive outcome of the third session of the Special Tripartite Committee,” he added.

“Whilst we celebrate the adoption of this resolution, our support and thoughts are with our inland navigation affiliates in Panama, who are fighting a bitter battle against the Canal Authority’s retaliation for raising concerns about safety in the towing operations within the Canal’s new locks, an action we firmly condemned.”

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is calling on Hutchison Ports to address “a pattern of serious health and safety incidents across their global operations,” after a dockworker fell seven metes from her cabin to the ground at the Port Botany terminal in Australia.

The dockworker is still in critical condition at a hospital in Sydney, where she underwent emergency brain surgery and is being kept in an induced coma.

The ITF Executive Board met in London and passed a resolution “strongly urging Hutchison Ports to address a pattern of serious health and safety incidents across their global operations.”

“Hutchison Ports must correct its safety record and mitigate any further risk to its workforce and ensure involvement of union representatives,” the resolution said.

“We extend our thoughts to our member, her family, and say to them, and workers in Hutchison terminals globally, this only strengthens our resolve to make sure that every dock worker comes home safely to his or her family,” said ITF President Paddy Crumlin, who is also national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia.

Crumlin said that in the past 18 months in the Asia-Pacific region alone, there have been four fatal incidents at Hutchison’s JICT terminal in Jakarta.

He said the company did not allow union officials to access the Port Botany site following the accident and that it had also refused to consult with union health and safety representatives before it took place.

“Hutchison is the biggest stevedore in the world and has an obvious responsibility to its global workforce to meet occupational health and safety requirements,” Crumlin said.

“Workplace injuries and deaths are preventable,” he said.

“This incident again demonstrates that dock work is still extremely dangerous work, that’s why the campaign for better safety is never ending.”

An investigation into the accident has been launched by Australian authorities including police and safety regulators.

A NATIONAL CRISIS: EVERY DAY IN 2016, 150 U.S. WORKERS DIED EVERY DAY ON THE JOB

According to a report released last week by the AFL-CIO, 5,190 American workers died on the job in 2016, an increase from 4,836 deaths the previous year.

In addition, about 50,000 to 60,000 people died from occupational diseases, meaning approximately 150 workers died on the job each day from preventable, hazardous workplace conditions.

Overall, the national job fatality rate increased to 3.6 per 100,000 workers from 3.4 in 2015.

“We deserve to walk out the front door in the morning knowing we’ll return home safe and healthy after a full day’s work,” said AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.

“It’s a travesty that working people continue to lose their lives to corporate greed. The selfish and reckless decisions being made in boardrooms and in Washington are killing the very people who built this country. This is officially a national crisis, and it’s only getting worse.”

The AFL-CIO report is titled Death on the Job: The Toll of Neglect.

It shows the highest workplace fatality rates are in Wyoming (12.3 per 100,000 workers), Alaska (10.6), Montana (7.9), South Dakota (7.5) and North Dakota (7.0).

Workplace violence is now the second-leading cause of workplace death, accounting for 866 workplace deaths, including 500 homicides.

Other report highlights show that the construction, transportation and agriculture industries remain among the most dangerous.

In 2016, 991 construction workers were killed: the highest total of any sector. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting was the most dangerous industry sector, with a fatality rate of 23.2 per 100,000 workers.

Despite the fact that workplace deaths are increasing, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues to face a significant funding shortfall: the agency’s 764 federal inspectors, who are responsible for inspecting 9 million workplaces, would need 158 years to visit each site just once.

The Trump administration has continued to enact an aggressive deregulatory agenda, gutting safety rules and proposing deep cuts to worker safety and health training.

For example, the administration is considering rolling back the coal dust rule, even as health professionals warn of the largest cluster of black lung in coal miners seen in years.

The cost of job injuries and illnesses is enormous. It is estimated at $250 billion to $360 billion a year.

“The Trump administration and the Republican majority in Congress have launched a major assault on regulatory protections and are moving aggressively to roll back regulations, block new protections, and put agency budgets and programs on the chopping block,” the AFL-CIO said in an official statement.

“The data in this year’s Death on the Job report shows that now is a time when workers need more job safety and health protection, not less.”

“At a time when our economy favors the rich and powerful, this vote by JetBlue’s inflight crewmembers to join the Transport Workers Union demonstrates the power working people have when they come together,” he said.

“JetBlue’s 5,000 inflight crewmembers want nothing more than a share in the profits they make possible, a say in workplace policies and procedures, and a seat at the table. Having a powerful union voice evens the playing field and ensures these hardworking, dedicated employees receive the dignity and respect they deserve.

“I congratulate JetBlue’s inflight crewmembers on their hard-earned victory and welcome them to the transportation labor family.”

In a statement, TWU President John Samuelsen called on JetBlue to quickly come to the table and negotiate a “fair and just contract with the workers they employ.”

If not, he says, TWU is “prepared to engage in a fightback campaign that will continue until a contract is secured and Inflight Crewmembers are protected.”

In 2014, Jet Blue’s 3,500 pilots voted to join in union with the Airline Pilots Association, but they have yet to win a first contract.

REMEMBERING CHARLIE MALUE: SCHOLAR, FRIEND AND TRUE UNION BROTHER

The MM&P community is mourning Captain Charles W. Malue, the union’s Great Lakes & Rivers representative from 2005 to 2014, who passed away on April 23 at the age of 69.

Scores of family members and friends attended his funeral last week in Cleveland.

Charlie started working on the Lakes as a coal passer aboard Great Lakes steamers while he was still a teenager.

He climbed the hawsepipe to become a captain, finding the opportunity between family time, work and travel to read a steady stream of books on topics ranging from world history to the trade union movement, and from economic theory to poetry.

An MM&P member for 35 years, he was also a second-generation member of the Industrial Workers of the World and a member of the former National Maritime Union.

“Charlie grew up in hard-scrabble, rough circumstances to become a master mariner and, more importantly, the kind of man we should all aspire to be: a person of unimpeachable honor, integrity and substance,” says MM&P President Don Marcus.

“He was a wonderful friend, a mentor and a true union brother to me and so many others.”

ROS CHIEF MATE ABOARD MV CAPE HORN

The permanent position for ROS Chief Mate aboard the MV CAPE HORN is open. Matson is accepting resumés. Master’s experience preferred, no classes necessary. The vessel is currently berthed at Pier 50 in San Francisco. Send resumés to Danny Defanti at ddefanti@matson.com.

OFFSHORE MEMBERSHIP MEETING AT MM&P BOSTON HALL ON MAY 8

MM&P Atlantic Ports Vice President Don Josberger will hold an Offshore Membership Meeting at the MM&P Boston Hall on Tuesday, May 8 at 1100. All Offshore members in the area are encouraged to attend the meeting.

The MM&P Boston Hall is located at Marine Industrial Park, 12 Channel St., Suite 606-A, Boston, 02210-2333. The phone number is 617-671-0769.

NATIONAL MARITIME DAY COMMEMORATION IN SAN PEDRO ON MAY 22

The contributions of American merchant mariners will be celebrated during the month of May at Maritime Day ceremonies around the country.

In San Pedro, Calif., the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial Committee will begin the day with a service at the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial (Harbor Ave. and 6th Street, San Pedro) followed by a luncheon at the Ports O’Call Restaurant (Berth 76).

There is free parking at the restaurant, which is located at 1200 Nagoya Way, San Pedro, with free transportation provided by the San Pedro Trolley between Ports O’Call and the Memorial from 1000 to 1300.

The Memorial is maintained by the committee and supported by your donations and by advertisements in the National Maritime Day program book.

Your support is extremely important. The deadline for placing an ad is May 7. Reservations are required for the luncheon.

/ MITAGS ACADEMIC NOTES /

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For class availability or information on MITAGS courses and programs, contact Amanda Meadows, Admissions Coordinator, toll-free at 866-656-5568 or by e-mail: admissions@mitags.org.